William e



(No Model.) v

W. E. GINN.

KNIFE SHARPBNBR.

No. 385,706. Patented July 10, 1888.

NiTnn STATES PATENT Trice.,

ILLIAlli E. GINN, OF W'OODBERRY, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONEI-IALF TO JAMES G. MOORE, OF SAME PLACE. l

KNlFE-SHARPENER.,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 385,706, dated July 10, 1889,

Application filed March i), 1858. Serial No. 266,668. (No model.)

T @ZZ whom, may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. GINN, of Voodberry, county of Baltimore, and State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Knife Sharpeners, of which the following is a full, clear, and cxactdcscription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

My invention relates to a novel construction 1o ot' knife-Sharpeners more especially designed for domestic or household purposes, but applicable generally wherever frequent sharpening of knives is necessary, and it consists in anovel form or construction ofstand or whetr 5 stone-h older whereby theknife bladeis adapted to be readily reversed for sharpening upon both sides in the manner of applying the holding-clamp to said stand or holder, in a novel arrangement of spring in combination with 2o the stand or holder, and in the manner oi applying the whetstone to said stand or holder, as hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of myimproved Sharpener with the stone applied as for use. Fig. 2 rcp resents a longitudinal vertical section through the holder, and Fig. 3 a vertical transverse section through the same.

A represents the stand or holder having a broad base or foot iianges, c, a, through which it may be secured to any suitable supportd such as a stand or tableby means of screws or other suitable fastenings; but where it is to be used for domestic purposes simply, or

where the stand or support is adapted to receive it, I prefer to provide the base with a pendent spring-clamp, B, adapted to grasp the edge of the stand or table and to clamp the holder iirmly thereto without the aid of other 4C fastening, so that it can be readily attached to and removed from its support as required. The base is made, preferably, in the concavoconvex form, concave on its lower face, as shown, so as to give the required elevation to the knife-slot O through an upwardlyprojecting transverse rib, A, and is perforated centrally of said slot at a to permit a curved projection, d, on the free end of a tlat spring, D, to pass up through it into the knife-slot, as shown. This spring is shown secured to the lower concave face of the stand or base A, and may be formed in one piece with the spring-clamp B where the latter is employed; or it may be made separate therefrom and secured to the standvA under any suitable arrangement by rivets or screws, as shown, or otherwise.

The knifesiot C is made, preferably, tapering from its center each way, from the spring end d to the ends c of the slot, being made of suilicientwidth or depth at said ends to accom modate the back of the knife-blade and permit it to slide freely and easily back and forth therein, with its end resting on the curved upWardly-projecting end d of the spring I). 6

Immediately above the spring end Z the stand A has upwardly projecting curved tlan ges c2 c, approximating together the form of a short upright cylinder, but open on the front and rear sides, and provided at their lower ends with inwardly projecting foot flanges a, which serve to support the whetstone E, resting upon end in the socket formed by the fianges a2. This cylindrical form of socket is preferred, as it permits the stone to be turned readily as required, and so prevents it from being worn in grooves, as would be the case were the socket and stone polygonal, or in such other form as would. prevent the stone from being turned while in use. The stone is thus upheld directly above the curved end d of thespring and the edge of the knife, resting on the latter by gravity, aided, as required, by pressure from the otherwise u nemployed hand ofthe operator, who can at the same time, if desired, rotate the stone in its socket, and so prevent the grooving of the stone, as explained.

` The walls of the knife-socket may be provided with a series of sawtooth-shaped shoul ders Z), adaptingit to blades ofdiil'erent widths.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a knifeshaipener, a base or stand provided with a knifeslot and a socket or receptacle for the stone, in combination with the centrally-arranged spring, operating substantially as described.

2. The knife-Sharpener stand provided with roc the horizontal knife-slot and the socket for the stone located above said knife-slot, substantially as described.

3. The knifesharpencr stand provided With the socket for the stone, and the knifeslot crossing the lower end ol' said socket, in combination with the centrally-arranged spring for upholding the edge ofthe knife in contact with the stone, substantially as described.

4. The knife-sharpener stand provided with the knifeslot and the socket for the stone, in combination with the spring D, and means, substantially as described, for uniting said stand to a support7 substantially as specified.

5. The combination, with the perforated base or stand A, having the knife slot Oc and the cylindrical socket ft2 a2, ofthe stone E and the spring D, arranged and operatingsnbstane \V[LLAM E. GINN.

Witnesses:

MORRIS SHANKS, JAS. S. BARTON. 

